Good News

First Presbyterian Church

August 2018

Where Every Member is a Missionary

(985) 643-0871 www.fpcslidell.org

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I’m learning that the old saying is true: Getting Old isn’t for Wimps.

Some times it seems, that every other day, I wake up with another part of my body hurting, wondering

“How did I hurt my back in my sleep?” And, of course, nothing seems to work correctly as we get older. For instance, over the past 2-3 weeks, I’ve had an intermittent nagging cough that wouldn’t go away. The doctor told me it might be a reaction to some medication she prescribed. All I could think was “Oh goody… So the thing you gave me to fix one prob-lem is causing another problem…. Perfect!” And it occurred to me “That was kind of like the church: Getting older, things not working right, fix one problem and another pops up, aches and pains in unexpected places, etc.” It can almost seem like the church. And yet, it isn’t very hard for the church to get “old”; it’s quite easy: We just have to do nothing and keep on coasting. The hard thing for a church isn’t ‘Getting old’, it’s “Getting young again”. You see, as a church, we believe that resurrection and new life is always possible. But to have a resurrection, we first need to die: Die to all the practices and traditions (however well-loved) that hold us back; Die to the old angers and animosities we still

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remember; Die to “our way of doing things”, if they aren’t growing the kingdom of God here. For the prom-ise that Jesus gives is that when we die, we will live. As he said “Those who seek to save their lives will lose them; and those who die for the kingdom will live.” So let us learn to die in this world, so that we may live. And maybe we’ll learn the truth of that other old saying: “Age is just a number; getting old is an attitude.” May our attitude be focused on “dying and rising again.” Blessings & Peace Keith

CONTENTS Pastor’s Message 2-3

Church Happenings 4-7

Christian Nurture & Church Finances 8-9

Calendar 10-11

Worship Pages 12-13

Lectionary Readings 14

Ministry News 15

Missions Corner 16-17

Coming Attractions & Holy Humor 18-19

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CHURCH HAPPENINGS

Cut out the below coupon and present it to your friends.

Let’s get this church packed with people

so we can Pelt the Pastor with water balloons!

We only have two weeks left to fill our church and a four way tie as of July 19th.

The Carsons, Dickeys, Veitches, and Dussors each brought 2 guests. Help us break the tie!

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CHURCH HAPPENINGS

We are so very grateful to have Kyle Cripps as our guest organ-ist while Danny is recovering from his illness. An extremely tal-ented musician who plays several instruments, and with several bands, Kyle was previously the organist at Carolyn Park Presby-terian Church (CPPC).

We are grateful to Linnie Stasney for her willingness to lead us in worship over these past few months, and for Larry Gay’s ef-forts in supplying accompaniment when Linnie was unable. We also thank Jim Veitch for putting us in contact with Kyle.

Please extend Kyle a warm welcome and your thanks to Linnie, Larry, and Jim for all their efforts.

Most people spend 6 days sewing their wild oats and the 7th day in church praying for a crop fail-ure. Fred Allen, 1940’s Radio Host

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CHURCH HAPPENINGS

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CHURCH HAPPENINGS

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*Family & Friends of “Campy” Holley (Danny’s Brother) - on his passing Family & Friends of Sally Brothers – on her passing Leo V. (friend of D’Loye) – suffering 3rd degree burns Sara Stobbe (friend of D’Loye) – health concerns Joel Clifton (son of Bob & Helen Clifton) - cancer Gerald Pinkston (Mrs. Glenys’ Bro.-In Law) - recovering from heart attack Bill Goldston (Mrs. Glenys’ Brother) – health concerns Marvin & Debbie (friends of Dussor’s) – heart troubles and dementia Margie Barrineau (Cindy Thiele’s Mother) – recovering from mini stroke James Mitchell – (friend of Dussor’s) – various troubles Michael Wilcox (Son of Sue’s friend Pat) – cancer Barbara Toups (Sue’s Son-In-Law’s Sister) – undergoing cancer treatment Paula Gunn – at home Danny Holley – health concerns Harry Babirad (Shirley’s brother-in-law) - cancer Mitchel Glasgow (Marsha Carson’s brother) - cancer Shirley Sharpe – health concerns Florine Lott – health concerns Vivian Huntington – health concerns Ed & Charleen Kruebbe (Dawn Dussor’s Parents) – health concerns Alan Simmons (friend of Dussor’s) - cancer Elwin Washburn (Brother of Vivian Huntington) parkinson’s Our Veterans, Our Military, Our First Responders, & Diplomatic Persons - Serving around the world

* Indicates new person or change in condition

If you know of a person who should be added to or kept on the prayer list, please let the office know.

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CHURCH FINANCES

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Join Us on Sunday, August 5th & Celebrate Communion

“In Remembrance of our Risen Lord”

WORSHIP PAGES

In Romans 12:1, Paul urges Jesus’ followers to perform spiritual worship by being “a living sacrifice.” For Old Tes-tament believers, that concept would have been an oxymo-ron. A sacrifice, after all, required bloodshed and death to absolve sins. New Testament believers — us included — may squirm at the idea too. “The problem with a living sacrifice,” as D.L. Moody noted, “is that it keeps crawling off the altar.” Living for Jesus is an all-in commitment. Being a living sac-rifice involves forsaking the world and our own desires. But through God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrificial love, we can alter our attitude and stay on the altar.

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WORSHIP PAGES

Aug 5 Wilma Dickey Aug 12 Dawn Dussor Aug 19 Larry Gay Aug 26 Jeff McDowell

Greeters: Magda Angle, Richard Dickey Snack Preparation: JoAnne Gay Communion Prep: Margie Wood Guest Organist: Kyle Cripps

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AUGUST READINGS

August 5

Matthew 5: 33-37 Exodus 20: 16 Sermon Series: Be Blessed Communicators

August 12

Matthew 5: 43-48 Exodus 20: 17 Sermon Series: Rejoicing in Others’ Fortune

August 19

Lamentations 3: 21-33 2 Corinthians 6: 1-13 Mark 4: 35-41 Sermon: “Don’t you have faith yet?”

August 26

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 2 Corinthians 12: 2-10 Mark 6: 1-13 Sermon: People Like Us *BOLD indicates primary scripture passage

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Facilities and Finance George Dussor (‘18) Laurie Clark (‘19) Glen Carson (‘20)

WMMCCE (Worship, Mission, Member Care, Christian Ed)

Wilma Dickey (‘18) Jeff McDowell (‘19)

Larry Gay (‘20)

MINISTRY NEWS

Donna Miller 10th Kathy McDowell 14th

Mickey Thiele 17th Vivian Huntington 30th

Ryan Clark 30th Melissa McDowell 31st

*Missing a birthday? Please notify the church office ASAP.

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THE MISSIONS CORNER

WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)? Help Feed the Hungry

Saturday, August 4, 2018 9 a.m. till Noon. @ Mount Olive

2457 2nd St, Slidell, LA 70458

If you have any suggestions, announcements, or articles for our newsletter, please submit them to Pastor Keith or Dawn Dussor in the church office or email churchoffice@i-55.com

Thank You!

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THE MISSIONS CORNER

Community Christian Concern & Miramon Center (CCC) offers emergency basic need to families in Sli-dell, & Pearl River & the transitional men's facility.

CCC is located at 2515 Carey St., Slidell, LA 70458 Ph # 985-646-0357

In addition to a monthly cash contribution, we donate McDonald gift cards to CCC to distribute to needy families.

Below are some stories as told by the CCC councilors:

Grand mother whose husband is in prison for life, is keeping her two grandchildren, 11 and 12, while her son and daugh-ter in-law are in jail for 3 months. Grandmother gets $27 In food stamps and disability.

Gave cards to a single mom with 3 sons. The father of two of the boys was killed. The mom works and does all that she can to take care of the boys.

A special thanks to all who are contributing to this wor-thy cause and to those who continue to fill our foyer bins with dry goods for the CCC food pantry. This is a huge help during the summer months.

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COMING ATTRACTIONS

PEACE & GLOBAL WITNESS OFFERING PEACEMAKING AND RECONCILIATION

A gift to the Peace & Global Witness Offering en-ables the church to promote the Peace of Christ by addressing systems of injustice across the world. Individual congregations are encouraged to utilize up to 25% of this Offering to connect with the global witness of Christ's peace. Mid councils retain an additional 25% for ministries of peace and rec-onciliation. The remaining 50% is used by the Pres-byterian Mission Agency to advocate for peace and justice in cultures of violence, including our own, through collaborative projects of education and Christian witness.

The Peace & Global Witness Offering is received September 2 - October 7.

Please give generously. Thank you!

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HOLY HUMOR

Why is it that Presbyterians always want to sit at the front of the theatre yet sit in the rear of

the church?

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